Sunburnt Souls | Faith, Mental Health & Mayhem

This week we dive into a candid conversation with Sarah Sibi Thomas. Sarah Sibi is a legend! She shares with such wisdom and love and genuineness, we couldn’t help but go for longer than usual :)... We tackle love, faith, grief, loss, healing, restoration and most importantly, Jesus!

 This episode is a straight-up exploration of human challenges, offering insights and encouragement for listeners on their own life journeys.

 If you’re looking for a counsellor that loves Jesus and is super qualified and called to this ministry… check out her website here https://purehearttherapies.com.au/

 Connect with Sarah on Instagram here 

 Or email … [email protected]

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...

Sunburnt Souls: A Christian mental health podcast welcomes best-selling author T.I. Lowe to discuss her powerful novel, Under the Magnolias. Lowe, renowned for her talent in weaving remarkable narratives, invites us to explore the intricate blend of faith, family, and mental health portrayed in her characters' journeys of struggle and triumph.

Bipolar Disorder, Caregiving, and the Church Within the pages of Under the Magnolias, we encounter Austin Foster, a young woman thrust into the role of caregiver for her siblings. Against the backdrop of a rural South Carolina tobacco farm, Austin grapples with her father David's descent into darkness as he battles bipolar disorder without seeking help. This narrative offers raw insight into the realities of caring for a loved one with bipolar disorder.

Personal Faith and Relatability Host Dave Quak shares his deep personal resonance with the character David Foster, a father and Pastor grappling with bipolar disorder, noting how the fictional struggles mirrored his own battles with mental health. This connection grounds the discussion in real-life Christian experience with mental illness.

Christian Fiction: Resilience and Redemption Lowe's storytelling is both raw and tender, shedding light on life's harsh realities while offering a glimmer of hope amidst the shadows. Lowe delves into crucial Christian fiction themes of love and loss, resilience and redemption, grit and grace.

Buy your copy of  "Under the Magnolias" here

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...

We are blessed to have Paul Grimmond as our guest this week.

 At the core of our discussion lies Paul Grimmond's book on Christian Anxiety, "When the Noise Won’t Stop," a helpful Christian resource that seamlessly intertwines personal narratives with theological musings.

 With a blend of raw vulnerability and scholarly expertise, Grimmond encourages listeners toward restoration in Jesus, unveiling the gospel's relevance for those ensnared in the grip of anxiety. Through his reflections, Paul extends a lifeline of hope, inviting listeners to embrace a future infused with gritty realism and unwavering faith.

"When the Noise Won’t Stop" emerges not merely as a book but as a beacon of reassurance for souls navigating the tumultuous waters of anxiety disorders. Through their enlightening conversation, Dave and Paul illuminate the path toward mental well-being, offering insights that resonate deeply with the human experience and resonate powerfully.

 Buy the book here… all proceeds go to Matthias Media

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...

This week on Sunburnt Souls, we welcome a very special guest—my daughter- for a heartfelt conversation about what it's like to grow up with a parent navigating mental illness.

From her perspective as a teen and daughter, she opens up about the emotional, spiritual, and relational challenges that come with having a parent with bipolar disorder—and how faith gives her strength and perspective.

In this honest and hope-filled episode, we discuss:

• What it’s like for a child when a parent struggles with mental health.
• How Christian faith shapes resilience, empathy, and self-understanding.
• The unique pressures teens face and how Milani supports her peers through their own battles.
• Parenting, love, and connection through the highs and lows of mental illness.

Whether you’re a parent, teen, or someone walking through mental health challenges, this episode offers wisdom, encouragement, and a glimpse into faith through the eyes of the next generation.

CONNECT

Follow Sunburnt Souls for raw stories of faith, mental health, and hope:
🔗 Facebook | 🔗 YouTube 🔗 Instagram

BRAND NEW ONLINE COURSE!
🧠✨ Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

28 days. $28. A practical, hope-filled course to help you:
✅ Embrace your identity in Jesus
✅ Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
✅ Navigate mental health with honesty and faith
👉 Start your 28-day journey today

💌 Join Our Community

Get weekly encouragement, bonus content, and resources in your inbox:
👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

🙌 Support the Mission

Help us keep creating free, faith-filled mental health content:
👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls

⭐️ Leave a Review

Love this episode? A quick rating or review helps more people find hope.
👉 Rate us on Apple Podcasts | 👉 Rate on Spotify

PARTNERS

🎙️ Sunburnt Souls is proudly produced by Pretty Podcasts

Sunburnt Souls: A Christian mental health podcast presents an honest and heartfelt conversation about faith, neurodiversity, and the beauty of inclusion. Host Dave Quak sits down with Brad Johnson for a powerful story of resilience and acceptance.

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode discusses themes that may be distressing to some listeners, including childhood trauma and mental illness. Please seek support from a trusted friend, pastor, or mental health professional if needed.

A Childhood Marked by Responsibility & Trauma Brad shares his early experiences as a child caring for his mentally ill mother and how this shaped his perspective on life, faith, and resilience. His story explores navigating burdens no child should have to carry, yet finding strength and purpose along the way. This is a vital conversation for anyone dealing with childhood trauma and faith.

Mental Health as a Superpower: Embracing ADHD Living with ADHD, Brad has faced his share of challenges, but he now sees his neurodiversity as a gift rather than a limitation. He reflects on:

• How Christian faith helped him embrace his mental health journey.
• The ways ADHD has become his honed superpower in life and work.
• Why understanding neurodiversity is vital within faith communities.

Parenting, Down Syndrome, and the Gift of Diversity As a father to a daughter with Down syndrome, Brad shares how his family has embraced the beauty of diversity. He discusses the joys and challenges of raising a child with unique needs and how faith has shaped his family’s approach to love, acceptance, and inclusion in the church.

The Power of Community and Hope Brad emphasizes the importance of community support in facing life’s trials. He encourages listeners to seek understanding from their faith communities and embrace diversity as part of God’s greater plan.

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...

Sunburnt Souls: A Christian mental health podcast is dedicated to providing biblical clarity and compassionate conversation on complex issues. In this essential episode, host Dave Quak sits down with theologian Todd Miles, author of Cannabis and the Christian: What the Bible Says about Marijuana, to explore this complex and evolving conversation from a Christian perspective.

How Should Christians Approach Marijuana? With legalization changing cultural attitudes, many Christians are re-evaluating their stance on both recreational and medicinal marijuana use. Todd challenges listeners to think biblically and critically, offering profound insights into:

• What Scripture says (and doesn’t say) about cannabis.
• How biblical principles of discipleship, healing, and suffering apply to marijuana use.
• The potential effects of cannabis on the mind and body, and what that means for Christian mental well-being.

Discipleship, Wisdom, and Navigating a Complex Issue Todd encourages believers to approach marijuana use with discernment, asking:

• Does cannabis use align with a Christ-centered life?
• How does it impact spiritual growth and personal holiness?
• What does responsible, faith-filled decision-making look like in an era of increasing acceptance?

This episode offers a balanced, biblical, and compassionate conversation on one of today’s most debated topics. This is a must-listen for anyone seeking Christian guidance on cannabis.

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...

Sunburnt Souls: A Christian mental health podcast features honest conversations about faith, mental well-being, and ministry. In this thought-provoking episode, host Dave Quak sits down with Andrew McLennan of Into All the World Ministry (i2aw.org) to discuss his unique journey.

Navigating Mental Health Through Spiritual Practice Andrew opens up about his personal journey with mental health, sharing his decision to manage his well-being primarily through non-conventional methods. We explore:

• The challenges and victories he has experienced.
• The spiritual strategies and practices (such as prayer and Christian disciplines) he relies on for ongoing mental well-being.
• Insights on faith and mental health management without conventional medical interventions.

Faith, Calling, and Christian Media Impact Beyond his personal story, Andrew reflects on his extensive experiences in ministry and Christian media:

• Preaching across Australia and beyond through Into All the World Ministry.
• Co-hosting the Twenty20 podcast and radio show with Neil Johnson on Vision Radio.
• The role of media in encouraging faith and providing spiritual practices for mental health.

Listen Now: Real Conversations on Faith and Mental Health Join us as we explore the intersection of Christian faith and mental well-being through Andrew's unique perspective. This episode offers valuable insights for those seeking to deepen their reliance on spiritual practices for mental health support.

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...

Sunburnt Souls: A Christian mental health podcast is committed to equipping churches and providing faith-based support. In this essential conversation, host Dave Quak is honoured to sit down with Stu Cameron, CEO and Superintendent of Wesley Mission—one of Australia’s most influential Christian mental health organisations.

From simple beginnings to leading mental health innovation on a national scale, Stu shares his journey of faith, leadership, and compassion. This episode is crucial for anyone interested in Christian leadership and mental health.

Inside This Episode 

• The legacy of Wesley Mission in providing mental health care for over 60 years.
• How stigma around mental illness still lingers in churches and how to break it.
• What it means to lead with both theology and empathy in a modern world.
• Practical ways churches can respond with grace, support, and real help.
• How faith and professional care can work hand-in-hand to support mental wellbeing.

🙏 Theological Insight Meets Real-World Leadership Stu offers a deeply grounded Christian perspective on mental health—framing it not as weakness or failure, but as part of God’s redemptive story. If you care about the future of the Church, Christian leadership burnout, or loving people like Jesus did, this conversation is essential

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...

Sunburnt Souls: A Christian mental health podcast explores faith, mental health, and resilience through powerful stories. Today, we have the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Wai Jia Tam, a woman whose life is a testament to God’s provision, courage, and unwavering faith.

A Life of Impact: Kitesong and a Calling to Serve From a young age, Wai Jia's life reflected a heart surrendered to God’s calling, raising over $100,000 for a children’s home with her first book, Kitesong. But as she pursued her medical studies, she faced battles she never expected.

Walking the Tightrope: Christian Depression and Anorexia Recovery At 19, while studying medicine, Wai Jia found herself navigating the shadows of clinical depression and anorexia, all while learning to trust God for provision and direction. We dive into:

• What depression looked like for her.
• How anorexia took hold.
• Her current journey with these struggles.

In this candid conversation, Wai Jia bravely shares her journey—the challenges, setbacks, and victories—and how she found hope in the midst of turmoil. This episode provides vital faith-based support for eating disorder recovery.

Faith as a Cornerstone: Growing Through the Struggle Despite the weight of mental illness, faith became her anchor. Wai Jia shares how her relationship with Jesus shaped her outlook on life, leading her to trust in His plan, even in the darkest moments. Her story is a powerful testimony of Christian resilience.

Dreaming Brave: A New Chapter and Book Today, Wai Jia is the author of the powerful book, Dream Brave: A Dare to Live By Faith When You Feel Too Small, and is pioneering a new podcast under the same name. She inspires others to step out in faith even when they feel small and will be visiting Australia in the coming weeks to share her story.

Listen Now: A Testament to God's Faithfulness Join us as we uncover Wai Jia’s powerful testimony of resilience, healing, and courage.

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...

Sunburnt Souls: A Christian mental health podcast explores the intersection of faith and mental health through real stories of creativity and resilience. In this fun and insightful episode, founder Dave Quak sits down with prolific author W.R. Gingell to discuss her journey of writing, faith, and navigating life with ADHD and dyslexia.

The Writing Journey: Embracing Neurodiversity Wendee takes us behind the scenes of her creative process, sharing how she has learned to embrace the challenges of writing with ADHD and dyslexia. She reveals her unexpected sources of inspiration and how her Christian faith shapes her writing, infusing wisdom, adventure, and beauty into her fantasy fiction.

Faith and Mental Health: Creativity as Healing As an author living at the intersection of faith and neurodiversity, Wendee opens up about:

• How her Christian faith strengthens her daily life, guiding her through struggles and triumphs.
• The essential role of creativity in mental well-being, and how writing serves as an outlet for expression and healing.
• Her powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness, even in seasons of uncertainty and self-doubt.

A Heart of Kindness and Generosity Beyond her nearly 30 books, Wendee is a woman of deep kindness, modeling a life of radical generosity and faith. Join us for this inspiring and lighthearted conversation that celebrates neurodivergent Christian creativity, resilience, and the way God works through storytelling.

Sunburnt Souls Unhinged is here! 

Join Dave for a fun night of comedy, stories, raw conversations and much more. Come connect, laugh, and experience life, faith and mental health in a whole new way.  For more info and tickets, click here

🙏 IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 Donate to Sunburnt Souls. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health

A 28-day, FREE journey to help you:

• Embrace your identity in Jesus
• Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
• Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace

👉 Start your 28-day journey today

📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter

⭐ LEAVE A REVIEW

Love this episode? Your review helps others discover faith-based mental health resources and find hope for their journey.

• Listen and Rate on ...